# Onto vs Jina Reader · Where each one fits
> Both turn a URL into Markdown. Jina Reader renders JavaScript, captions images and works without a key; Onto adds a free 0–100 score, a hallucination-risk label and an SDK for your own Next.js site.

**Source:** /compare/jina-reader
**Extracted:** 2026-09-24T18:14:20.531Z

---
Compared · Onto vs Jina Reader

## Jina gives you Markdown. _Onto gives you Markdown and the score._

Both turn a URL into Markdown, and both run an MCP server. Jina Reader renders JavaScript in a headless browser, captions images, and works without a key at 20 requests a minute. Onto adds a free 0–100 score and a hallucination-risk label for any page, and an SDK for serving agents from your own site.

[Try the scanner free](/scanner) [All comparisons](/compare)

40

jina.ai AIO score

80

buildonto.dev, ours

24 Sep 2026

both scanned

Shared ground

### What Jina Reader and Onto both do.

Starting anywhere else would be dishonest. For a lot of jobs either one is a reasonable answer.

Markdown

#### Any URL as Markdown

Both strip a page down to Markdown a model can read directly, PDFs included.

MCP

#### An MCP server

Both connect to Claude Code, Cursor and other clients over MCP.

Free

#### Free to start

Jina gives a new key 10M tokens and works with no key at all; Onto gives 1,000 credits a month and a free scanner.

Line by line

### Where the two differ.

A dot marks who comes out ahead on the row, when anyone does. A dash means the product doesn't do it. Their side is from Jina Reader's own site, 24 Sep 2026.

CapabilityOntoJina Reader

Page → MarkdownYes · 1 credit a URL, cached an hour, failures refundedYes · priced by tokens

Without a keyThe scanner, one page at a timeYes · 20 requests a minute

JavaScript renderingNo · client-rendered pages come back flaggedYes · headless browser

PDFsYesYes

Image captions—Yes

A 0–100 score for the page0–100, every penalty named · /v1/score is free—

Hallucination-risk labellow, medium or high, per page—

Web search—s.jina.ai

MCP serverYes · six tools, OAuth or npxYes · mcp.jina.ai

Serve agents from your own site@ontosdk/next, for Next.js 14+—

Free1,000 credits a month10M tokens with a new key

Which to pick

### When to choose Jina Reader instead.

Both columns are real. If the right-hand one describes you, use them.

#### Pick Onto if…

*   You want a score and a risk label to decide which pages your agent should trust.
*   You want to pay per URL, not per token.
*   You run a Next.js site and want agents served Markdown from it.

#### Pick Jina Reader if…

*   The pages you read need JavaScript, or you want images described.
*   You want to call it with no key at all.
*   You're already on Jina's embeddings or search.

Common questions

### Details worth knowing.

01Does Onto render JavaScript?

No. It reads the HTML the server sends. A page that only fills in after scripts run comes back with a warning in `warnings`, so you know the Markdown may be thin.

02Is the score in every read?

`/v1/read` returns the Markdown with its metadata and stats. `/v1/score` returns the score alone and costs nothing; `/v1/read-and-score` returns both for 1 credit. [How the score works](/scoring).

03Why does jina.ai score 40?

Its homepage has no Markdown version, weighs 270 KB, has no JSON-LD, and 36 images without alt text: −25, −10, −20 and −5. That's the page, not the Reader, which does its job well.

About Jina Reader, from its own pages on 24 Sep 2026: [Jina Reader](https://jina.ai/reader/) . About Onto: [the Read API docs](https://docs.buildonto.dev/api/read) and [pricing](/pricing). Prices on both sides change; check before you decide.

Decide for yourself

### Run the same URL through both.

The scanner is free and needs no account. Compare the actual output rather than the marketing.

[Open the scanner](/scanner) [All comparisons](/compare)

---
## Structured Data (JSON-LD)
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#org",
      "name": "Onto",
      "url": "https://buildonto.dev",
      "logo": "https://buildonto.dev/icon.png",
      "sameAs": [
        "https://x.com/buildonto",
        "https://github.com/ravixalgorithm/ontosdk"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#site",
      "url": "https://buildonto.dev",
      "name": "Onto",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#org"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "SoftwareApplication",
      "name": "Onto",
      "applicationCategory": "DeveloperApplication",
      "operatingSystem": "Web",
      "url": "https://buildonto.dev",
      "description": "Onto serves AI agents clean Markdown from your own site, at the same URL, and shows you which agents came. Plus the AIO score, a Read API and an MCP server.",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#org"
      },
      "offers": {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "price": "0",
        "priceCurrency": "USD",
        "description": "Free tier: 1,000 credits / month"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```